Hotels for a digital age

Friday 11 January 2013 17:05 BST

With all the technological advances in recent years and all the cool gadgets seen in action movies which we are yet to see in real life, surely London hotels might have cottoned on to the fact that everyone loves a flashy new gizmo? How often has everybody at some point stayed in a hotel and there hasn’t even been a TV or Wi-Fi connection? In this day and age, these two things should come as standard in every basic hotel in the UK. Hang on a second though, because slowly but surely things are getting much more innovative and more importantly, digital.

Hotels in London are paving the way. Having to
enquire about a wi-fi connection is a thing of the past, with
hotels such as the Pullman London St Pancras offering a
Connectivity Lounge in partnership with Microsoft, docking
stations, and of course free Wi-Fi. The Novotel London Blackfriars
is equally impressive; it’s one of Accor Hotels’ most
technologically advanced hotels in the world. Self check-in desks,
a video wall featuring digital art and the latest Microsoft Surface
table and iMac corner in the lobby are just some of the incredible
innovations taking place.

The following five things are some of the most
impressive advances being made in the hotel industry today. Being
impressed by them is a certainty.

Electronic shower privacy screens. Such a
simple creation, yet one with a limitless ability to amaze, The
Novotel London Blackfriars has installed technology which
switches the shower partition from transparent to opaque at the
touch of a button. The rest of the bedroom is separated from
the bathroom by this partition and privacy is a fully
controlled choice.

An iPad table. Also at the Novotel London
Blackfriars, there is an iPad table housing eight iPads for
hotel guests to use during their meal if they wish. Primarily
designed for guests travelling on their own, families can use
them to keep the kids entertained. The iPads feature a range of
apps offering news and events from around the globe, as well as
child-friendly apps to play throughout dinner. They also
feature newspaper and magazine apps, BBC, IT and 4oD, as well
as all the usual social media apps and eBooks to peruse.

Technological fitness. Even exercising is
getting its fix. Once again at the Novotel London Blackfriars
(they truly are amazing), you can plug in a personal work-out
program via USB at their state-of-the-art
In Balance fitness centre. You can also do some
lengths in their awesome swimming pool, which has a projection
of underwater sea scenes on the wall, as well as a ‘saunarium’,
which gives guests the benefits of a steam room and a sauna, as
well as a jet-pool.

Modern connectivity on a budget. It’s easy to
assume that technological advances are only for the hotels
which cost the most to stay in, but the ibis Shepherds Bush is
proving that theory completely wrong. Each bedroom has a USB
docking station which is compatible with most iPods and
tablets. You can also connect your mobile or laptop direct to
the in-room TV to either work or play with ease. Plus there’s
also free Wi-Fi and Freeview TV, which is all something you’d
never expect at such a comparatively minimal charge.

Electronic food. The ibis London Blackfriars
and Shepherds Bush boasts something even cooler. A projection
runs on the dining area wall, and in the morning this will
consist of rolling BBC news tweets so that guests can keep up
to date with what’s going in the world. In the evening it will
project the kitchen’s specials onto the wall, as well as a
countdown to what meals are coming out of the kitchen and when.
You can also download an app called ‘TweetArt’ on arrival at
the hotel, which allows you to post messages about your dinner.
Your comments will be turned into art and projected onto the
wall to be shared across social networks and other ibis
hotels.